03/11/2012 15:31
The IDF is concerned with the growing involvement of Palestinians released in the Gilad Schalit prisoner exchange in terror activity in the West Bank, a senior IDF officer said Sunday.
The officer said that since the beginning of the year the IDF has noticed a dramatic increase in attempts by Palestinian terror organizations, and particularly Hamas, to smuggle money into the West Bank to finance their activity.
In January and February there was a dramatic increase at West Bank crossings, particularly at the Allenby Bridge which is between Jordan and Israel, with NIS 2.2 million being confiscated in comparison to just NIS 500,000 confiscated in all of last year.
According to a senior IDF officer, some of the terrorists released under the Schalit deal are trying reestablish terrorist activity in the West Bank and particularly to kidnap IDF soldiers or Israeli citizens.
The source said there was a connection between smuggling money and the release of 55 Palestinian terrorists to the territory under the Schalit deal.
"Establishing new terror infrastructures requires a lot of money," the officer added.
The officer also voiced concern about a drop in arrests made by Palestinian Authority security forces in the last year.
According to the officer, PA security forces arrested 2,200 terror suspects between 2009 and 2010 but in 2011 arrested less than 700. The drop, he said, was the result of the reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah even though the PA is not allowing Hamas to insert its own people into the ranks of the security forces.
While there was a drop in the number of arrests, the officer said that Israel was satisfied with the PA's continued operations against known terrorists cells in the West Bank. Just last month the PA foiled a plot by terrorists in Kalkilya to abduct an Israeli civilian.
Meanwhile Sunday, OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Avi Mizrahi was replaced by outgoing Judea and Samaria Division commander Brig.- Gen. Nitzan Alon.
The officer said that since the beginning of the year the IDF has noticed a dramatic increase in attempts by Palestinian terror organizations, and particularly Hamas, to smuggle money into the West Bank to finance their activity.
In January and February there was a dramatic increase at West Bank crossings, particularly at the Allenby Bridge which is between Jordan and Israel, with NIS 2.2 million being confiscated in comparison to just NIS 500,000 confiscated in all of last year.
According to a senior IDF officer, some of the terrorists released under the Schalit deal are trying reestablish terrorist activity in the West Bank and particularly to kidnap IDF soldiers or Israeli citizens.
The source said there was a connection between smuggling money and the release of 55 Palestinian terrorists to the territory under the Schalit deal.
"Establishing new terror infrastructures requires a lot of money," the officer added.
The officer also voiced concern about a drop in arrests made by Palestinian Authority security forces in the last year.
According to the officer, PA security forces arrested 2,200 terror suspects between 2009 and 2010 but in 2011 arrested less than 700. The drop, he said, was the result of the reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah even though the PA is not allowing Hamas to insert its own people into the ranks of the security forces.
While there was a drop in the number of arrests, the officer said that Israel was satisfied with the PA's continued operations against known terrorists cells in the West Bank. Just last month the PA foiled a plot by terrorists in Kalkilya to abduct an Israeli civilian.
Meanwhile Sunday, OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Avi Mizrahi was replaced by outgoing Judea and Samaria Division commander Brig.- Gen. Nitzan Alon.
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